REwire Technology and Marketing

Signed contracts gained 17% in June as low mortgage rates spurred homebuyers July 29, 2020, 12:55 pm   By  Share On Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) U.S. pending home sales increased 17% in June, the  second consecutive month of double-digit gains , as low mortgage rates spurred demand for homes. A seasonally adjusted index measuring signed contracts was 6.3% above the year-ago level after state lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed transactions into summer months, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the  National Association of Realtors . “It is quite surprising and remarkable that, in the midst of a global pandemic, contract activity for home purchases is higher compared to one year ago,” said Yun. “Consumers are taking advantage of record-low mortgage rates resulting from the  Feder...

JORDAN STRAUSS / AP Clint Eastwood arrives at the AFI Awards on Jan. 3, 2020, in Los Angeles. Eastwood sued several companies that sell CBD supplements Wednesday, alleging that they are falsely using his name and image to push their products. By Andrew Dalton, Associated Press Wednesday, July 22, 2020 | 11:45 p.m. LOS ANGELES — Clint Eastwood sued several companies that sell CBD supplements on Wednesday, alleging that they are falsely using his name and image to push products he would never agree to endorse. Two lawsuits filed in federal court in Los Angeles include allegations that companies have spread phony articles reporting that the 90-year-old actor-director is quitting the movie business to focus on a CBD business. The lawsuits say Eastwood has no part in the manufacture, sale or promotion of CBD, a chemical derived from marijuana often sold as a dietary supplement or included in creams and ointments. In the suits that seek millions in damages, Eastwood names as defendants n...

Total inventory is down 31% in a year. STAFF GRAPHIC By  JONATHAN LANSNER  |  jlansner@scng.com  | Orange County Register PUBLISHED:  July 17, 2020 at 11:27 a.m.  | UPDATED:  July 17, 2020 at 11:25 p.m. Southern California’s homebuying market could be losing steam after two straight weeks of declining sales contracts. My trusty spreadsheet looked at Zillow’s weekly report on activity from brokers’ listing services in the region and found 3,500 existing homes were put into escrow in the week ended July 11 — down 6% from the previous week and the second decline following a 10-week rise from the coronavirus-linked economic meltdown. Please note the week’s sales contracts in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties were 2% above year-ago levels. And, the past 30 days’ buying pace of 15,665 new escrows is up 1% vs. the early July 2019 pace. An uncertain employment picture may be overcoming historically low mortgage rates that put house hun...